


Hikari in Central: Her real reason in Amestris?

by Suzuhanai



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alchemy, Alkahestry, Amestris, Central City, Flame Alchemy, Gen, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:07:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29497014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzuhanai/pseuds/Suzuhanai
Summary: Hikari boards the train with Roy and Riza to Amestris. In her letter to Roy, she claimed she wanted to be a state alchemist in order to help Roy obtain his goal.He decides to help her prepare and he's been thinking: What is she really doing in Amestris?
Relationships: Roy Mustang & Original Female Character(s)





	Hikari in Central: Her real reason in Amestris?

"Excuse me, sir. Please I need to be on this train,'' Hikari said. 

"Sorry ma'am, but we are full," the soldier said firmly. 

Hikari leaned her body a bit, trying to look past him while wondering why she couldn't board. There were clearly open seats left and soldiers as the only passengers. "Please let me on. I have somewhere to be."

"Sorry ma'am but you can't board this train!" he said.

"Why not?"

"That's not of your concern. Why are you so insistent on-!" 

"She's with me. Let her on board," said a familiar voice. 

He saluted Colonel Mustang and his Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. "Oh, yes. Of course, sir." The man stepped aside. 

Hikari smiled seeing Riza and Roy again as they boarded the train together. 

"So, I heard you're an alchemist." 

"Yeah, it's why I'm going to Amestris. I thought I could be helpful to…" Hikari blushed. "...you." 

"You wish to achieve this by becoming a state alchemist, correct?" Roy grabbed a slip of paper and pencil out of his jacket pocket. "Show me what you can do." 

Hikari took the items and tried to draw a perfect circle. She swore under her breath while she made and erased even minuscule mistakes. Hikari's slate eyes met with his stone cold gaze.

She looked down and drew it to the best of her ability. Hikari took a deep breath and placed her fingers on it. The circle glowed a dark blue and the paper folded itself into a crane. 

"Not bad. Surely you can do better than that though."

"I suppose I could if I practice and had more material to work with."

"Was the paper not good enough?" 

Hikari looked up at him. "Huh?" 

"You said if you had more material, you'd do better." Roy had, at that moment, set the crane on fire. "I'd like to think that one of the greatest strengths of an alchemist is resources and what they do with them."

He held it up in front of her, his eyes locked onto her like prey. "My question is: what will you do with them?"

The fire burnt up what was left as Hikari stared at it, taking in what he just asked her. "The military is not the place for you and it's not very clear why you wish to help me specifically." 

"Did you actually read the whole letter or only the parts you wanted to read?"

"Oh, I read it." Roy whipped the letter out from inside his jacket, held it up, and smirked. "Down to every last detail. Maybe next time you'll keep your mind on the important stuff only."

Hikari's face turned red and she bowed her head. "Yes. I'll see to that next time." <>

"Please take my offer into consideration if you will. Amestris deserves a better leader and who is qualified for such a task except you?" 

"Hmm." The train slowed down and came to a stop at the next station. Roy stood up as did the rest of the passengers and grabbed his luggage. "Let's go, Lieutenant." 

"Yes, sir."

"Wait!" Hikari grabbed her stuff, got off the train, and waved to Roy and Riza. She caught up to them right before Roy entered his vehicle. "What about the law of equivalent exchange? You help me and I help you in return!"

"... Get in." 

Hikari smiled. After they arrived in Central, she followed them into the military headquarters. 

"Hey, Mustang. Welcome back! Who is this lovely lady?" 

"Her name is Hikari, you've met her before. Now if you excuse us, we'll be on our way." 

"Oh, I must've forgotten. Nice to see ya again. Later then!" 

"Nice to be seen, Havoc. Later!" 

Roy led Hikari down to his office. "You will be working here. The state alchemist exam is once a year. There's the written exam, physical exam, and the practical exam."

"Thank you for informing me." 

"Good. You better prepare something extraordinary that will impress the judges."

"I will. How long do I have exactly?"

"About 3 months."

"3 months! That's insane." 

"You wanted to do this so I suggest you use this time now to practice. I'll come back to check on your progress." Roy left.

Hikari sighed and leaned back in his chair. "How am I supposed to prepare in such a short amount of time? Well, it's either this or death." 

She spun around in it and jumped up. "Time to get to work." Hikari looked in his drawers and found markers, paper, and a pencil. "Hmm." 

Some people walked by in the hallway and most minded their own business except one man. He peered inside the glowing blue room and ran to alert Roy. Roy tried to ignore him but the man insisted he came to see.

"I think I'll create one more thing before Roy comes back." Hikari closed her eyes, took a breath, and touched the center of the circle. She moved her hands in an upward motion, causing a sword to rise out of the ground. "Perfect." 

Roy walked to his office, opening the door to Hikari playing with the sword. He dismissed the curious soldier with a wave of his hand and stepped inside. "I see you've made progress."

Hikari hid the sword behind her back and blushed. "No sir, it's obvious that I slacked off considering the figurines, origami creatures, and 520 cens!" She threw the money at him. "No gold and I guess this means Edward doesn't owe you anymore."

Roy caught it and pocketed the change. "No, he still does. Fullmetal won't get off that easy." He walked over to his desk. "Let's see how you did."

He picked up and looked over each individual object. "I see. Bring me that statue over in the corner there." 

<> Hikari turned her head over by the window. <> She grabbed the statue by its head and drug it over to him. "This is heavy!" 

"What did you make it out of?" 

"Copper."

"Hmm." Roy walked over to the sword and pulled it out of the ground. He examined the blade then the handle.

Roy swept it through the air in one clean motion. "A sword made of carbon steel and a four foot statue of me made out of copper. That's impressive." 

She bowed. "Thank you, Colonel." 

"I'd work on your craftsmanship on some of these." <> "I'm going to pick up some stuff for you to prepare you for the exam. Keep up the good work." 

<> Hikari sighed. "I guess I'll upgrade the figurines and move away from making origami creatures."

Roy returned late with books, files, documents, and practice worksheets. He saw Hikari asleep and dropped them hard on his desk. 

She jolted up in his chair. "What? Who? Oh. Holy shit! Do you want me to have a heart attack?" 

"Of course not but I do want you to look through all of those."

Hikari yawned. "What time is it?" 

"It's 7:30."

"What? How long was I asleep?" 

"I don't know. Want to grab something to eat?"

Hikari's stomach growled. "Yeah." She stood and stretched her arms up. "Where are we going?" 

"I know a place that serves the best noodles in town. Let's go." 

"Alright!" At the restaurant, Hikari slurped the last of her noodles. "Mmm. That was good!" She took one of Roy's dumplings, ate it, and washed it down with tea. "Thanks, Colonel." 

He glanced over to the bowls stacked on top of each other. "You're welcome." <>

Hikari's fingers crawled across the table, attempting to sneak a fortune cookie.

"So, what's the next step after you become a state alchemist?" 

She cracked it open. "Uhh, well, I'm not quite sure. <> Hikari shoved the cookie in her mouth.

"The real work begins tomorrow. I want you to study that material tonight and be ready for whatever is thrown at you."

"I'll do my best, Colonel." She bowed her head. "Thank you for the meal." 

"No worries." Roy took the bill from the waitress and left money on the table. He smirked, about to show her the full cost. "By the way, you now owe me exactly 750 cens."

"I what?!"

Over the next three months, Hikari studied, practiced alchemy, and worked out everyday. She followed Roy's instruction and preparation course like a loyal dog. On the day before the exam, she met Roy out in the field to do it all again.

"What is the law of equivalent exchange?" 

"Easy. Humans can't create anything from nothing. To obtain something, another thing of equal value must be lost." 

"Correct. Name something an alchemist isn't allowed to make."

"Gold." 

"Yes. What is alkahestry?"

"It's another type of alchemy practiced in the country of Xing that uses the concept of a "dragon's pulse" or chi within the earth." 

"Good. What is it used for?"

"It's used for medicinal purposes."

Roy nodded. "One more question." His focused gaze expressed the tone of the words about to come out of his mouth. "What is a forbidden practice among all alchemists?" 

Hikari opened her mouth but nothing came out. She knew the answer yet it wasn't an easy one to give. "Human transmutation." 

"Yes." Roy walked in silence to the middle of the field and Hikari followed him. 

Hikari warmed up with stretches, did her normal exercise routine, and finished off with a run. She ate breakfast and stood by herself midfield, ready for whatever was thrown at her.

The soldiers charged at her like a stampede, she drew a transmutation circle with her foot. Hikari took them out with ease and performed the matrix in order to avoid being burnt alive.

"Not bad, Kusanagi."

She smirked, a fire ignited in her eyes. "Come on. You know me better than that. I think I'm at the point where I can take you with my hands tied behind my back." Hikari slinked her way around, avoiding Roy's attacks any way she could. 

Roy smiled. "Is that so?" He snapped his fingers, sending the flames her way.

Hikari jumped up and pulled a spear from the ground. She spun it around like a rotary blade, dispersing the fire as it kept coming. 

"How long can you keep this up?" he asked. 

"As long as it takes for you to give in."

Roy grinned. "I like your spirit." He crossed his fingers behind his back, signaling the cannon to go off. 

Hikari's eyes widened. She leapt in the air and arched her back, barely missing the cannon ball. Hikari grabbed the spear and ran. "Is he trying to kill me?"

More soldiers lined up with their cannons at the ready. They fired on Roy's signal. Fortunately, Hikari was by the circle she drew earlier. 

She clapped her hands together and slammed them down, thus forming a barricade. Hikari slumped behind it to rest and catch her breath. "How the hell do I get out of this one?"

Hikari threw the spear like a javelin but it didn't go far. "I need to improve my throw. Why did my dumbass self think that would work?"

"What's the matter, Kusanagi? Don't tell me you've given up already."

<> Hikari peered her head over the wall and squealed as hair was almost burnt off. "I got to think of something fast." 

The wall began to crumble. Hikari created a set of kunai and threw them over the wall into a star formation. She drew another star, threw the kunai down at the points, and placed her hand in the center.

A cloud of dust masked the soldiers and Roy's vision. Hikari used rock hands to attack them and destroyed the cannons. 

She screamed as she charged at Roy with the spear, slashing through one of his gloves. Hikari breathed fast as she anticipated his next move.

"You're ready." That's all he said. "Use this time to practice or study if you want. Dinner is on me tonight."

"Yes, Colonel." 

Later that night, Hikari and Roy visited the same restaurant as before. The waitress showed them their table and took their orders. Hikari had already started eating the bread.

"Let's cut to the chase. Are you nervous at all?" 

"A bit. I think I'm ready though."

"I hope so because it won't be easy. I do expect you to do the best you can. I don't think that'll be a problem though, I've seen what you're capable of."

"Thanks and thank you for everything you've done for me."

"It's not a big deal. However, I do have something that's been on my mind." 

Hikari sweated and her heart skipped several beats. She munched on that piece of bread, internally screaming. Hikari wanted to disappear at that moment.

Did he know? Roy opened his mouth and Hikari closed her eyes, waiting for it. A weight dropped off Hikari's chest for a moment when the waitress showed up with their food and drinks. They both thanked her before being left alone again.

"Anyways, there's something I wanted to ask you." Roy sipped his tea, slammed his cup down, and his cold gaze remained on her. "Why have you really come to Amestris?"

Hikari slurped her noodles and sighed. "Because... I was framed for a murder I didn't commit and I wouldn't be here if I stayed. My country isn't exactly a safe place to be." 

"So you lied to me. You didn't actually want to help me become Fuhrer, did you?"

"Colonel..." 

"You're not the only one who used the military for the benefits and personal gain so I can't fault you for that. I thought I could trust you though and that you'd follow me to the end but I was wrong."

Roy broke some bread and ate in silence. 

"You are wrong."

"You want to run that by me again."

"I'm sorry that I lied to you. I do want you to be Fuhrer and I'd follow you to the ends of the goddamn earth! You'll be the next Fuhrer and I'm going to be a state alchemist, this I swear." 

"Is that so?" Roy huffed and crossed his arms. He leaned back against the seat. "Alright, I forgive you." 

Roy picked up his chopsticks. "Never betray me though or lie to me again." He ate a dumpling. "Oh and good luck on your exam."

"I won't and thank you." Hikari lifted her bowl, sipping the broth from her ramen. "I promise."

Hikari's heels clicked against the pavement. She stood up straight and tall, she walked with purpose. Hikari, having to meet up with Roy and Riza, approached the guards blocking the entrance.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you can't be here. This is a restricted area off limits to citizens." 

One of the men took a better look at her. "I recognize you. You're the girl from the train."

Hikari rolled her eyes. <> Her grin was smug as showed off her silver pocket watch. "Please let me through. I got somewhere to be." 

The men saluted. "Y-yes, of course. Right away, ma'am." They stepped aside and pushed the doors open for her.

Hikari carried that grin and a confident air about her as she walked through the building, following through on her promise to Roy in the restaurant and to pay back the 750 cens.

**Author's Note:**

> This OC belongs to my friend, Niko, and they are the one who also helped with this story. Thanks for all your help!


End file.
